Noah Syndergaard retired his first 18 batters in the rookie’s latest overpowering performance, while the New York Mets got two-run homers from Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson to beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 Tuesday night.
Firing his fastball up to 158kph, Syndergaard (5-5) struck out nine, walked none and allowed only three singles in eight innings. The big right-hander outpitched James Shields and avenged a 7-2 loss at San Diego on June 2.
Making his 14th major league start, Syndergaard lost his bid for a perfect game when Will Venable lined a clean single up the middle on the first pitch of the seventh, prompting a warm ovation from the Citi Field crowd of 26,034.
Yangervis Solarte followed with an infield single and Venable went to third on an error by shortstop Ruben Tejada, who made a sliding stop, but a wild flip that rolled away from second baseman Daniel Murphy.
That is when Syndergaard buckled down to preserve a 2-0 lead. He retired No. 3 hitter Matt Kemp on a popup and got cleanup man Justin Upton to ground into an inning-ending double play.
ROYALS 2, INDIANS 1
In Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Hosmer’s homer with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Kansas City to a victory over Cleveland, who have lost eight straight at home — their longest home losing streak in 40 years.
Hosmer hit a 3-2 pitch from Trevor Bauer (8-8) over the wall in right for his 11th homer. The shot came one pitch after Indians catcher Roberto Perez threw out Lorenzo Cain trying to steal second. When his homer cleared the wall, Hosmer pointed toward Kansas City’s dugout, which was celebrating wildly.
Wade Davis (7-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth — getting a nifty groundout, and a game-ending double play — for his 22nd save.
PHILLIES 3, BLUE JAYS 2
In Toronto, Philadelphia won their first game after trading All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon to Washington, beating Toronto for their ninth victory in 10 games since the All-Star break.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Marlins 4, Nationals 1
‧ Orioles 7, Braves 3
‧ White Sox 9, Red Sox 4
‧ Astros 10, Angels 5
‧ Athletics 2, Dodgers 0
‧ Reds 4, Cardinals 0
‧ Brewers 5, Giants 2
‧ Yankees 21, Rangers 5
‧ Diamondbacks 8, Mariners 4
‧ Pirates 8, Twins 7
‧ Rockies 7, Cubs 2
‧ Rays 10, Tigers 2
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